What Cognitive Reserve MeansCognitive reserve describes the brain's capacity to keep functioning despite age-related change or disease pathology. The study was published in Nature Aging in November 2025 and has continued to draw coverage since. In many populations, people who speak more than one language completed more schooling, and education is itself among the strongest predictors of cognitive reserve. Language study is cognitively demanding, typically social, sustained over time, and has no side effects. What is cognitive reserve?